Recent research indicates a significant drop in lightning activity over the Port of Singapore's shipping lane, correlating with reduced ship emissions due to new regulations. This study utilized global lightning detection data to establish a link between ship exhaust and increases in lightning frequency. The findings reveal that human-generated aerosol particles, even in minuscule quantities, can influence thunderstorm behavior. With the enforcement of stricter regulations in 2020 reducing sulfur emissions by 77%, lightning occurrences halved, shedding light on how human pollution can affect atmospheric conditions.
"The unplanned experiment demonstrates how thunderstorms, which can be 10 miles tall, are sensitive to the emission of particles that are smaller than a grain of sand."
"Our newly published research shows how lightning over shipping lanes dropped by half almost overnight after the regulations went into effect."
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